I realized this weekend that my activities have changed somewhat in the past month and that by now I'm just about limited to housework and 2 1/2 hrs a week of teaching at SAM Academy. Somehow that just doesn't fit with what I thought I was here to do, and while I recognize that my expectations don't always align with reality, I know I want to be out and about more, meeting people and engaging in Peruvian culture.

First solution? Join Minori at the gym. Yesterday we went to step aerobics, a class I never dreamed I'd attend. Less of a workout for me than others because I couldn't keep up with all the steps! It seemed like a neat gym, nonetheless, and I picked up a schedule of all the classes. At $1.35 per class, it's hard to go wrong.

Like a lunatic, I returned this morning at 6:30 am for spin class in the new air-conditioned studio. Good thing it was so early, because they didn't turn the air conditioning on and there were no fans! I never knew I could sweat that much. I looked like I had just gotten out of the pool or something. After 15 minutes, I gave up trying to follow the instructor and just sat down and attempted to keep my legs moving for the rest of the class. Whew!

My workouts have been a little less than encouraging, but I am happy to report that this morning while waiting for the instructor to arrive, I got to talk to another girl in the class (who happened to be at step aerobics yesterday as well). Since making new friends was my primary motivation for going to the gym, I considered it a big success! I'm not sure where all of this is going, but I'm glad to be getting out more.